Waste receptacles are provided in various public and private locations for the purpose of providing a convenient place to deposit waste for collection and temporary storage. Such containers must have an opening through which the waste can be deposited. This opening is often equipped with a lid to keep the waste enclosed within the container and to prevent unpleasant odors, generally associated with waste, from escaping. The lid also limits viewing of the unsightly contents of the waste container. One of the main difficulties with such lids is that users must physically contact the lid to gain access to the container and deposit the waste. Often a user's hands are full with the waste to be deposited, or other items, leaving no easy means by which to open and close the lid. In other situations, the lid itself becomes contaminated with waste and the user does not wish to touch the lid in order to open it.
These deficiencies have been addressed by developing automatically operating lids for waste containers. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,329,212, issued to Feigleson, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,770,935, issued to Smith and Wells, describe waste containers having a vertical opening in a sidewall and a door hinged from a top edge of the opening. An infrared detector is mounted near the opening to sense the presence of a person within a predetermined proximity in front of the container. A motor is mounted inside the container and connected to the door by a cable or an arm and cable assembly. When a user approaches the container, the infrared detector activates the motor, which opens the door. When the user departs, the motor reverses and the door is closed. One problem with this system is that depositing waste through an opening in a vertical sidewall is more difficult than through an opening in the top of the container. In the former case, a user must reach well into the container to properly deposit the waste, thus possibly exposing the user's hand and arm to waste material. If the user does not reach far enough into the container, waste can be spilled down the outside wall. The above-noted systems, as disclosed, are not easily adaptable to a lid mounted within a horizontal opening. Moreover, the infrared detectors are designed to sense the presence of a user in front of the container. Thus, a person merely passing in front of the container, or standing next to the container, but not wishing to deposit waste, may inadvertently trigger the sensor and cause the lid to open, unnecessarily releasing odor and contaminants from the waste container.
This latter problem is addressed by U.S. Pat. No. 5,932,982 to Pezzelli. In the system described by Pezzelli, the sensor is mounted on the inner periphery of a recessed bay in a vertical sidewall of the container or the container's lid, thus limiting the inadvertent detection of objects beyond this inner periphery. One problem with the system described by Pezzelli, is that a user must move his hand, or portions of the waste material, within range of the sensor before the door will open. Because of the location of the sensor within the recessed bay, this often results in physical contact between the user's hand or the waste material and the door before the door opens. The door is likely to become contaminated if waste material comes in contact with the door. Moreover, the system described by Pezzelli, has not addressed the above-described problems associated with waste containers having vertical openings in their sidewalls.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,609,122 to Ziegenbein, describes an automatic touch-actuated door opener for a waste container. Again, this system is designed for operation on a door suspended in a vertical opening in the container sidewall, and requires physical contact between the user and the door to actuate opening. The requirement for physical contact between the user and the door can result in contamination of the door due to spillage of waste.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,150,939 to Lin, describes a waste container having a door located in a horizontal opening in an upper side thereof. The door is opened when an electric eye mounted on a control panel located toward the back of the device senses a user within a predetermined space. U.S. Pat. No. 4,996,467 to Day, describes a waste container having a lid located in the top of the container that will open automatically in response to infrared sensors mounted on the front of the container to sense the presence of a person. One problem with these systems is that a person merely passing in front of the container, or standing next to the container, but not wishing to deposit waste, may inadvertently trigger the sensor and cause the lid to open, unnecessarily releasing odor and contaminants from the waste container.
What is needed then, is an automatic lid opening and closing system for a waste container that remedies the deficiencies inherent in the prior art.